Litz's widow sues mental clinic

Published: Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 4:53 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 4:59 p.m.

Cherie Litz in 2006 during the unveiling ceremony of the Deputy Brian Litz statue at the Marion County Sheriff West District office.

ALAN YOUNGBLOOD/STAR-BANNER

OCALA - If it goes to trial, a lawsuit by the widow of a Marion County sheriff's deputy killed by a mentally ill man three years ago could set a legal precedent in Florida.
Cherie Litz, whose husband, Brian, was fatally shot by Ivan Gotham, filed a medical-malpractice claim against the Brooksville mental hospital where Gotham was involuntarily committed in January 2004 and the doctor who treated Gotham there.
Lawyers in the case acknowledge the idea of citing negligence in treating Gotham as the cause of Brian Litz's death is a relatively untested concept in Florida law. The lawsuit alleges Springbrook Hospital and Dr. Luis Rodriguez neglected to properly treat Gotham's mental problems and should have known that Litz or other deputies would be put at risk.
Brian Litz died on Feb. 7, 2004, outside Gotham's Pine Run Estates home after responding to a request by Gotham's family to check on the 74-year-old. An agitated Gotham shot Litz through a window. Gotham died soon afterward when he grabbed the barrel of another deputy's shotgun and it fired.
Discovery in the lawsuit has been on hold until Circuit Judge Jack Singbush ruled on whether it could proceed. Singbush rejected a motion for dismissal by lawyers for Springbrook and Rodriguez last week.
A third-party claim in a malpractice case is uncommon, said Victor Musleh Jr., one of the lawyers for Cherie Litz.
"It's always much more difficult when a third party is alleging medical negligence," he said. "We filed a motion alleging that medical negligence was committed on Mr. Gotham which ultimately resulted in the death of Brian Litz."
Because Gotham was mentally ill, Litz and other deputies were his primary potential victims, Musleh said. Since deputies are often the first responders on calls about mentally ill people, that meant Springbrook and Rodriguez had a duty to warn law enforcement agencies, he added.
"Brian Litz, because of his capacity as a deputy, he was the most likely person to be a victim of medical negligence," Musleh said. "He was absolutely in the foreseeable zone of risk."
Jeff Bell, one of the lawyers representing Springbrook, rejected Musleh's claim.
"To say that anybody in the psychiatric or mental health field should be able to predict violence is something the courts have been very reluctant to do," he said. "If this case were allowed to go forward, we're heading into uncharted water. We just don't think this case should be allowed to go to trial."
There is legal precedent for a third-party malpractice claim, but Florida courts have rejected it in the past, Bell said.
California's Supreme Court ruled in a 1976 case that mental health professionals have a duty to protect potential third-party victims from violence by a patient. But that case involved a patient making threats against a specific individual, not a general concern for members of law enforcement or unspecified members of the public.
Ted Copeland, one of the lawyers representing Rodriguez, declined to comment on the specifics of the case.
"We are confident in our defense of Dr. Rodriguez, and we think we will prevail," he said.
Singbush's ruling doesn't necessarily mean the case will get to trial, Bell said.
"Nobody should read too much into this," he said. "Obviously, everyone agrees that this is a very tragic case, but the law, at least as we see it, would not allow the extension of a duty in a case such as this."Contact Rick Cundiff at 867-4130 or rick.cundiff@starbanner.com.

OCALA - If it goes to trial, a lawsuit by the widow of a Marion County sheriff's deputy killed by a mentally ill man three years ago could set a legal precedent in Florida.<BR>
Cherie Litz, whose husband, Brian, was fatally shot by Ivan Gotham, filed a medical-malpractice claim against the Brooksville mental hospital where Gotham was involuntarily committed in January 2004 and the doctor who treated Gotham there.<BR>
Lawyers in the case acknowledge the idea of citing negligence in treating Gotham as the cause of Brian Litz's death is a relatively untested concept in Florida law. The lawsuit alleges Springbrook Hospital and Dr. Luis Rodriguez neglected to properly treat Gotham's mental problems and should have known that Litz or other deputies would be put at risk.<BR>
Brian Litz died on Feb. 7, 2004, outside Gotham's Pine Run Estates home after responding to a request by Gotham's family to check on the 74-year-old. An agitated Gotham shot Litz through a window. Gotham died soon afterward when he grabbed the barrel of another deputy's shotgun and it fired.<BR>
Discovery in the lawsuit has been on hold until Circuit Judge Jack Singbush ruled on whether it could proceed. Singbush rejected a motion for dismissal by lawyers for Springbrook and Rodriguez last week.<BR>
A third-party claim in a malpractice case is uncommon, said Victor Musleh Jr., one of the lawyers for Cherie Litz.<BR>
"It's always much more difficult when a third party is alleging medical negligence," he said. "We filed a motion alleging that medical negligence was committed on Mr. Gotham which ultimately resulted in the death of Brian Litz."<BR>
Because Gotham was mentally ill, Litz and other deputies were his primary potential victims, Musleh said. Since deputies are often the first responders on calls about mentally ill people, that meant Springbrook and Rodriguez had a duty to warn law enforcement agencies, he added.<BR>
"Brian Litz, because of his capacity as a deputy, he was the most likely person to be a victim of medical negligence," Musleh said. "He was absolutely in the foreseeable zone of risk."<BR>
Jeff Bell, one of the lawyers representing Springbrook, rejected Musleh's claim.<BR>
"To say that anybody in the psychiatric or mental health field should be able to predict violence is something the courts have been very reluctant to do," he said. "If this case were allowed to go forward, we're heading into uncharted water. We just don't think this case should be allowed to go to trial."<BR>
There is legal precedent for a third-party malpractice claim, but Florida courts have rejected it in the past, Bell said.<BR>
California's Supreme Court ruled in a 1976 case that mental health professionals have a duty to protect potential third-party victims from violence by a patient. But that case involved a patient making threats against a specific individual, not a general concern for members of law enforcement or unspecified members of the public.<BR>
Ted Copeland, one of the lawyers representing Rodriguez, declined to comment on the specifics of the case.<BR>
"We are confident in our defense of Dr. Rodriguez, and we think we will prevail," he said.<BR>
Singbush's ruling doesn't necessarily mean the case will get to trial, Bell said.<BR>
"Nobody should read too much into this," he said. "Obviously, everyone agrees that this is a very tragic case, but the law, at least as we see it, would not allow the extension of a duty in a case such as this."<BR>
<i>Contact Rick Cundiff at 867-4130 or rick.cundiff@starbanner.com.</i>